How to Nail Baseboards

Locate the studs in the wall where the baseboard will be installed using a handheld stud finder. Hold the stud finder in your hand, running it along the wall horizontally until it beeps or lights up. Use a marking pencil to mark the bottom edge of the wall where the stud is. Do this for the entire length of the wall.

Hold the first piece of baseboard in place along the wall with one end firmly butted up to the corner wall. Raise the baseboard a few inches so you can see the marks you made along the bottom edge of the wall, then mark the baseboard where the studs run behind it.

Lower the baseboard back down to the floor, again butting the end of it up to the corner wall firmly. Use a laser level to make sure the baseboard is level; adjust if necessary, having a friend or your spouse help you hold the board in place until it is nailed.

Plug in a finishing nailer, or get a hammer and finishing nails. Tap a nail into the base board 1 inch down from the top edge, at the corner end of the board, where the board has been marked. Insert another nail directly below the first, 1 inch up from the bottom edge. Do the same at the other end of the baseboard, then in the center to secure the board to the wall well enough to keep the board level when your helper lets go. Insert nails 1 inch down from the top edge of the baseboard and 1 inch up from the bottom of the board every place there is a mark for a stud.

Fill in all nail indents with wood filler if you will be keeping the baseboard a natural wood finish. Fill all indent holes in with painters caulk if you are going to paint the baseboard, or if it is white.